MICHAEL J. LOVE
INTERDISCIPLINARY TAP DANCE ARTIST
MEDIA
Hear and see Michael move.
Excerpt:
Carver's Message In Blue (2020)
by Ariel René Jackson and Michael J. Love
In Carver’s Message in Blue, Jackson and Love transform a replica of the United States flag stenciled in soil as they wrestle with the sentiments of upward mobility and perseverance echoing from a found recording of George Washington Carver reciting his favorite poem, “Equipment” (circa 1900). Ultimately, the work joins installation and time-based performance in a meditation on identity and possibility. Carver’s Message in Blue was developed as part of the Works In Progress Series at the George Washington Carver Museum, Cultural, and Genealogy Center in East Austin, TX and presented in the Museum’s abandoned pool, aptly referred to as “the sunken stage.”
Feb 2020, Austin, TX
at The George Washington Carver Museum
Excerpt:
The Future is a Constant Wake (2019)
by Ariel René Jackson and Michael J. Love
The Future Is A Constant Wake centers soil as a conduit for sustained engagement with previous generations. Developed as a collaboration between Ariel René Jackson and Michael J. Love, the video proposes a somatic way of forging connection with the past through touch and movement.
April 2019, Austin, TX
Excerpt:
All I See Is Blue (2018)
by Ariel René Jackson and Michael J. Love
"All I See Is Blue" is a performance by Ariel René Jackson and Michael J. Love, in which the artists activate Jackson's sculptural installation, All I See is Blue, to translate Langston Hughes' 1935 poem 'Let America Be America Again.' Layering the piece with sound and dance, the performance simultaneously pays homage to Hughes while pointing to similarities between politics relating to American identity between the 1930s and now."
Sept 2018, New York, NY
at CUE Art Foundation
Video and audio recorded by Chauncey Velasco
and Omari Johnson.
Excerpt:
Self (2016)
by Michael J. Love
SELF is a curated moment of active resistance. Inspired by recent acts of protest, it's a respite from hopelessness: #selflove, #selfcare, and the celebration of one's intersectional identity in the face of oppression and/ or the oppressor. The audio component of the piece is a combination of the artist's personal influences—tunes by Kaytranada, moments from the film Paris Is Burning, and other iconic cultural sprinklings that chronicle a unique QPOC experience. The movement is tap choreography with moments of improvisation and nods to ballroom culture.
SELF was premiered as a work in progress at Sling Dance Project presents Boundless.
July 2016, Austin, TX
at The Off Center
Video recorded by Roger Ho and edited by Michael J Love.